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Review Panel Determines That Public Hearings Will Be Held in March 2008 for Proposed Encana Shallow Gas Infill Development Project

OTTAWA and CALGARY, Dec. 20 /CNW Telbec/ - The Joint Panel reviewing the
proposed EnCana Shallow Gas Infill Development project in the Suffield
National Wildlife Area in Alberta, today announced that the Environmental
Impact Statement along with the additional information submitted by the
proponent is adequate to schedule public hearings on the environmental effects
of the proposed project and the associated application for the three well
licenses. The Panel has asked the proponent to submit further information in
the next 30 days.
Public hearings will begin on March 10, 2008 in Calgary and will also be
held in Medicine Hat. The hearings are expected to take place over a period of
approximately 3 weeks.
The public hearings will give interested individuals and organizations
the opportunity to hear about the project and its consequences and to provide
their views and concerns to the joint review panel. The hearings will also
allow the proponent to present the project and to offer clarifying information
as required.
The public hearing in Calgary will be formal and conducted in accordance
with the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) Rules of Practice. For
individuals and groups who may not be able to participate for the duration of
the formal hearing, the Joint Panel also intends to implement a less formal
hearing procedure to ensure that it receives their views on the project. The
Joint Panel will schedule these less formal sessions in both Calgary and
Medicine Hat and will advise participants of the procedures it will use in
these sessions.
In January 2008, the Joint Panel will issue a Notice of Hearing, along
with hearing procedures and further details on the hearings. In addition, the
Panel intends to hire experts in the fields of wildlife management and
grasslands ecology who will be submitting reports prior to the start of
hearings.
Participants are asked to register with the Panel secretariat, and to
file a submission on or before February 18, 2008. To register for the
hearings, contact:
Marie-France Therrien, Jodie Smith,
Panel Co-Manager Panel Co-Manager
Canadian Environmental Alberta Energy and Utilities Board
Assessment Agency 640 5th Avenue S.W.
160 Elgin Street Calgary, AB T2P 3G4
Ottawa ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 403-297-3541
Tel.: 613-957-0324 Fax: 403-297-4117
Fax: 613-957-0941 comments@SuffieldReview.ca
comments@SuffieldReview.ca
The EIS, along with more information on this project are available on the
Panel's web site at www.SuffieldReview.ca or on the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Registry at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca, under
registry(numbersign)05-05-15620.
To obtain information on the panel review process, or to register as an
interested party and be kept informed of the panel's activities, provide a
full mailing or e-mail address to either of the Panel Co-Managers listed
above.
EnCana Corporation proposes to drill, over a three-year period, up to
1275 new shallow gas wells within the boundary of the Canadian Forces Base
Suffield National Wildlife Area (NWA), located in Southeastern Alberta,
approximately 50 km Northwest of Medicine Hat and 250 km Southeast of Calgary.
The project is in addition to the existing natural gas development activities
within the NWA and includes the physical works and the activities associated
with the construction, operation, decommissioning, abandonment and reclamation
of the shallow gas wells, pipelines, and supporting infrastructure.
The Joint Review Panel for the EnCana Shallow Gas Infill Development
Project is an independent body, mandated by the federal Minister of the
Environment and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board to assess the
environmental effects of the proposed project.